Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
UN Day for South- South Cooperation is observed every year on September 12.
South-South cooperation is a manifestation of solidarity among countries of the South which aims to attain various development goals. It marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1978 adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries.

Notes:
The candidate of National Democratic Alliance and Janata Dal (United) MP – Harivansh Narayan Singh has been re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman by a voice vote.
This is the second time he has been selected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He defeated the opposition candidate Manoj Jha of Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Notes:
Two important bills pertaining to Ministry of AYUSH has been passed in Lok Sabha, namely the “National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill 2020” and “National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2020”.
The said bills have been already passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2020. The bills seek to replace the existing “Indian Medicine Central Council Act 1970” and “Homoeopathy Central Council Act 1973”.

Notes:
The state government of Gujarat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI).
Under this deal, the state aims to increase self-reliance and provide capacity building and market support to the 35 lakh Micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) of the state. Earlier, Rajasthan had partnered with SIDBI to develop MSME ecosystem.

Notes:
The Rajya Sabha has recently passed the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill 2020, which was tabled by Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri
The bill has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha in March this year. It seeks to convert aviation agencies like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil aviation security (BCAS) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into statutory bodies. It also proposes heavy punishment for violations.

Notes:
The Supreme Court has ordered for setting up a panel of five distinguished citizens. The objective of the panel would be to set standards for electronic media.
This is pronounced by the Supreme Court in the context of the TV show “Bindas Bol” that is relayed on Sudarshan TV. The court has stated that the said TV programme appears to vilify the Muslim community and make it responsible for an attempt to infiltrate the civil services

Notes:
The Prime Minister of India is to inaugurate Kosi Rail Mahasetu (Mega bridge) located in Bihar. The Kosi Rail Mahasethu project was sanctioned by Government of India in 2003-04.
It is 1.9 km long bridge and has been constructed at a cost of Rs.516 Crore. This bridge is of strategic importance along the India Nepal border.

Notes:
Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank virtually conferred Second Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award.
The USVA Award is being organized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) since 2019, to motivate AICTE approved institutions. This year, the theme of the award is “India Fights Corona”. College of Engineering, Pune won the award in the overall category.

Notes:
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has permitted SII – Serum Institute of India to resume clinical trials of COVID vaccine, which was paused last week as per an order by DCGI.
The SII is conducting trials of the vaccine being developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Astra Zeneca. DCGI has advised SII to take additional care during the trial and to submit the details of medication to ensure that it in accordance with the protocol for the management of adverse events.

Notes:
The Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation was launched in the G 20 – Environment Ministerial Meeting (EMM) that was held in a virtual mode under the leadership of Saudi Arabia.
It aims to strengthen the implementation of existing guidelines on prevention of land degradation among the G20 member countries. In addition to the initiative on land degradation, the Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform was also launched which aims at R&D in all aspects of Coral Reef.